Cliffhanger
by namelessjen
Summary: Inspired by Mcleod's daughters. Betty and Alice are rushing home for Betty's 17th Birthday party when a bump in the road gets in their way.


Alice fussed over her 2-month-old daughter in the backseat of her car. A successful shopping trip ended in an emergency breastfeed whilst Betty took care of returning their shopping cart. "You were just hungry, weren't you?" She cooed, rubbing the top of her daughter's head. She had calmed down significantly since Alice had figured out why she was grizzling in the store. She glanced out of the window to try and catch a glimpse of her middle child. Betty was across the parking lot taking her sweet time which was probably a good thing. Alice wasn't sure how long this would take but FP wouldn't mind them being home a little late, he was probably too caught up in the party preparations to notice them being a little later than promised.

Their new home was sitting right between the North and the Southside of Riverdale, perfectly representing the unity of their family unit. Betty and Jughead were still quite the item, and although it took some adjustments the core unit learnt to exist through the awkwardness that presented itself in the beginning. Gone were the days of jumping five feet apart whenever the other couple walked into a room or awkwardly stumbling over words when trying to make plans. The baby came as a surprise to them all. Alice had made a point of preaching safe sex to the teens on numerous occasions only to have to turn around and admit she had once again fallen prey to the strong Jones swimmers. She had been quite embarrassed about that for months but the little girl she was nursing in the back of her car was her pride and joy now.

Betty wandered back to the car and opened the front passenger side door, she slid into her seat and tugged at her seatbelt before realising they could be a while yet. She turned around the back to look at her mother and younger sister. "How's she doing?" She questioned, eyes focused on her mother's. Alice looked at the teen with a smile on her lips. "She's taking her time, not at all like her older brother." She joked, glancing between her two youngest daughters.

Betty cracked a small smile before she turned around to face the dashboard. She tightened her ponytail before making herself comfortable for the wait. It was her birthday the following day, so this party was a double up between her 17th and a housewarming. It was all her idea, her mom had been so busy trying to juggle an infant and their move so she didn't want to trouble her with extravagant birthday plans on top of that. She shared most of the work with Jughead, but her mother insisted she help with the last of the grocery list, so there they were. "Do you think the ice will melt before we leave?" She questioned, hoping that it wouldn't. She knew better than to blame a baby for needing to eat. They could get more ice in the morning if they truly needed to.

Alice let out a sigh when she remembered the contents of their shopping bags. "I'm sorry honey, FP can get more if it melts. Your sister just needs a few more minutes." She told her, feeling awful about it all because she knew and understood that things had changed the last few months. Betty's had to take a backseat to her younger sister who needed Alice's attention more. She didn't mean to do it when trying to organise her daughter's seventeenth birthday party, but she couldn't help it now.

Betty impatiently tapped her finger against the window, she wasn't going to make a fuss over it but her mind was almost anxious now. True to her word it was only a few minutes before Alice fixed her top up and settled her baby back into her car seat. She double checked every buckle and made sure the seat was secure before she stepped out of the car and walked around to the driver's side. "Ready to go?" She asked Betty once she was sitting in her seat, belt buckled in, engine running and the door closed. Betty nodded her head and fastened her own seatbelt. She felt much better knowing they were on their way home. She still had many things to organise before the party and the list felt like it was never-ending. She nodded her head and turned her eyes forward.

Alice switched on the radio but kept it on a low volume to not disturb her youngest daughter. It was easy getting out of the parking lot so it didn't take long before they were on the open road, heading back to their new home. "You know Jughead is being pretty cadgy about this mysterious birthday gift he's giving you," Alice commented after a minute or two of silence.

Betty let out a soft chuckle. "Well you know Jug, he's pretty good at the mysterious thing..." She said to her warmly. The truth was that she had no idea what to expect. Jughead was keeping it all under wraps, it was kind of exciting knowing that he had some kind of surprise in store for her. He had a way of being romantic in the most unexpected of ways.

Alice watched her daughter from the corner of her eye and smiled because the teen looked quite smitten, which she often did. It was nice seeing that again. Admittedly she hadn't seen it because she was often distracted by the baby, but now she was giving Betty her attention. She hoped she could do more of that now that her little one was settling into their routine. "I am sure that it is well thought out, and will be well worth the suspense." She said kindly.

Betty nodded her head. "Yeah." She said with a grin. "Yeah, I'm sure it will be." She agreed, looking at her mother and then again toward the road.

Alice switched the radio off when she no longer liked the music that was playing through her speakers. She looked up at her windscreen again just as Betty screamed out, "Mom look out!"

The car swerved to avoid hitting a stray dog. The sound of her baby crying from the sudden movement made Alice's heart hurt. "It's okay honey, we'll be home soon. Mommy's here." She tried to calm her little one down the best she could from the front seat. Betty reached back into the backseat and started to jingle one of her sister's toys, stealing the young girl's attention away from the crying.

From her rearview mirror, Alice could see that the canine was fine. She would have felt awful if anything had happened to the poor thing but she sure hoped it would venture off home or away from the roads at the very least. She relaxed in her seat once more. There were no further distractions and they only had a few more minutes until they would get home and she could pass the baby off to her father, let FP have some daddy-daughter time while she helped Betty with preparations.

When Alice's phone rang she answered it, leaving it on loudspeaker so she didn't have to pull over. "Hi honey, we're on the way home now." She told her boyfriend, smiling to herself as she spoke.

"Oh, so you left the store already." FP commented. He scratched the back of his head and left the nursery to go down to their kitchen. "We're almost out of diapers, you didn't get any did you?" He asked, hoping she had because he didn't really want to make a trip to the store today.

"I'm one step ahead of you as per usual, FP," Alice told him. She chased her words with a warm laugh, looking at her two youngest children interacting in her mirrors.

"Oh? That's good. I'll see you in a bit?" He guessed, figuring they must be close to home if they'd already left the store.

"Mhmm, I'll see you in a few. Love you." She told him, a smile on her lips.

"Love you too. Bye." He told her before the line went dead.

"How's my girl doing?" Alice questioned her teenager, who was still interacting with her baby sister who had thankfully stopped fussing.

"We're both good," Betty said with a smile as she turned around to face the front again. The faint sound of the baby toy being played with was in the background as Betty checked her phone for any messages. She thought that maybe Jughead would have messaged her but he had not.

"I'm so proud of you, Betty." Alice told her daughter. Betty looked up at her mother because the words were so unexpected and seemed to have come out of nowhere.

"Thanks, mom." Betty smiled, glancing over at her mother.

Her head jerked forward, slamming against the dashboard. Betty had no idea what had happened, one moment her mother was telling her how proud of her she was and the next their car was spinning out of control. It felt like everything was going in slow motion. She couldn't work out how they'd managed to go so far off the road but when the car stopped she was grateful, expecting everything to be okay.

The sound of her baby sister screaming brought Betty out of her own shock. Her seatbelt was jammed so she tugged on it aggressively until she could breathe. She slammed her thumb down against the button to release it before turning her head to look at her mom.

"Betty." Alice said in a pained voice. Her daughter hadn't yet realised their predicament and she needed her middle child to remain as calm as possible if it was possible at all.

"Mom. Your leg!" Betty gasped out, eyes falling to where her mother's knee was jammed underneath her steering wheel. The blood was enough to tell her that she hadn't imagined the pain in her mother's voice.

Alice glanced down to where she was trapped and nodded her head. "It's okay, I'm okay." She promised, eyes looking forward. The car jerked forward, it was unsteady and Alice felt herself panic internally. "I need you to get your sister out of the car, can you do that for me?" She asked in a whisper. It was obvious to Alice that they only had a short space of time before something went seriously wrong. Betty was still so unfocused that Alice wasn't entirely certain that the teen knew how much danger they were really in.

"I can do that." Betty nodded, reaching back to where her sister was still screaming.

Alice reached out to stop her arm. "No, honey. Listen to me. I need you to get out of the car and walk around to the other door." She told her sternly.

Betty looked at Alice with concern in her eyes. She had been too focused on her mom's injury to even notice the extent of their current predicament.

The car lurched forward again and Alice let out a surprised whimper. Her leg was absolutely killing her. The steering wheel was pressed so harshly against her leg that she was afraid she wouldn't be able to break free at all. She turned toward Betty who had only just caught on to what was going on.

Betty's heart raced as she stared forward. It made sense as to why she felt as though the car was unbalanced now. They were hanging over the edge of a cliff, one that was usually safely guarded by a barrier, but apparently, that was not the case today. She couldn't move, fear paralysing her in the moment. "Betty, Betty, please," Alice begged, voice desperate and filled with fear. She couldn't let her family get hurt. She needed her daughters to be safe at the very least. "Get her out. Please. She's scared." Alice continued, trying her hardest not to cry because that wouldn't help anybody. She knew she would need to talk her daughter through it all.

Betty nodded her head in silence, she reached out to grab her door handle which she squeezed gently until it opened. She pushed her door out until gravity stole it away from her and it swung open with force. She closed her eyes in fear, whimpering out. She opened her eyes after a moment and stared out of her door. The front wheels were over the edge and she had no idea why they were suspended this way. She thought for sure that they should have fallen down by now. Those thoughts scared her to death. "My-my phone." She suggested, looking down to where her purse was sitting on the floor in front of her seat. She leaned down to reach for her purse, the car lurched forward ever so slightly.

"Betty, your sister first." Alice said to her, needing her girls to be safely outside of the car before anything else happened. Her own phone had fallen down beneath her own feet which she could no longer feel thanks to her current position. She let out a shaky breath, closing her eyes to try and manage her pain. The sound of her baby crying really made everything feel worse for her.

Betty nodded her head, gulping because she was really just trying to stall getting out of the car. She knew why she had to get out, but it still scared her half to death. She turned her body ever so slowly, abandoning her purse as she pushed one leg out of the vehicle ever so slowly. Her foot reached the ground and she shifted her weight onto it as she carefully moved her body to stand up. Her heart raced when she was standing on solid ground. She looked over the edge of the cliff and felt herself growing nauseous. She needed to get her mother out of this car before it went over the edge, there was no way in hell anybody could survive that drop. She looked into the car, watching as her mom tried to pretend she wasn't in as much pain as she clearly was.

Betty walked around the back of her family car. Suddenly melted ice cubes didn't matter at all. She didn't care about her stupid party or how long her sister needed to be breastfed. She just wanted her family to be safe, for all of them to be home together tonight. She was quick on her feet and walked over to her sister's door. She opened it and immediately reached in to start unbuckling all of her seatbelts that were keeping her safely in place. "Hey angel, it's okay. I'm here." She cooed, ignoring the hammering inside of her skull. She hadn't realised how hard she had hit her head until now. Her head was aching, and her fingers were shaking as she pushed down on the last button. She scooped up her baby sister and held her firmly against her chest. She grabbed her blanket from the seat and walked away from the car. She set her sister down comfortably on the grass, making sure she was far enough from the car and the cliff.

"Mom, she's okay. We're all going to be okay." Betty promised her mother when she walked back to the side of the car. She tried to open the driver's side door but it was stuck. Alice opened the window instead, looking at her daughter with a pained expression. She could hardly feel her legs at this point, and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't get her seat to move, she was jammed in pretty harshly at this point.

Betty raced over to the other side of the car to find her purse and her phone again. She leaned in from where she stood outside of the car. She picked up her bag and desperately started searching it for her cell phone. She needed to call for help. They just needed some help and fast. She found her phone and dialled 911.

Alice closed her eyes and tried to relax but that was a near impossible task at this point. She just wanted to go home to her boyfriend, her family. They had tried so hard to make a family for themselves. It took so long to finally be together again and she wasn't going to let one stupid car spin take that away from them. She tried to push her seat back, using her hands against the steering wheel as she pushed her body back against her chair. It was no use, it was jammed, it didn't help at all that her daughter's car seat was directly behind her either. There was no time for Betty to remove it either. She listened to the sound of her daughter's voice as she spoke to the emergency services.

Betty walked around to her mother's side of the car after checking on her baby sister. She stood hunched over so she could be by Alice's window and near her face. "The fire department is on the way." She reported, giving her mother her best attempt at a smile. Alice reached out to touch her daughter's face. She had a nasty bump on her head. Alice ran her fingers over it delicately. "You should put some ice on that. We have plenty." She joked, trying to lighten the tense mood.

Betty laughed for a second, but tears started running down her cheeks instead. She wasn't in the mood for laughter. She just wanted her mom to be safe. She looked over the edge of the cliff once more, the car shifted forward again and it scared her half to death. The noise was louder than anything else. The creaking of the vehicle as it lurched made her jump out of her skin. Alice closed her eyes and did her best to lean backwards, an attempt at keeping her weight away from the front of the car.

"Talk to me, Betty," Alice told her daughter. She thought getting Betty to talk might calm both of them down a little.

"Talk about what?" Betty asked in a shaky voice. She didn't know what talking would change. They were stuck in this situation together and every passing second made it seem worse. She knew the fire department would be there soon but she was anxious they wouldn't make it in time and that made her feel sick to her stomach.

"About Jughead." Alice prompted her, a small smile on her lips. She knew the boy made her daughter very happy and that had to be a good thing in this situation. Jughead could calm her down.

Betty's eyes widened. She frantically searched for her phone as she had forgotten which pocket she had left it in. She found it and scrambled to find her boyfriend's number. She needed to tell him, tell FP what was going on.

"No, Betty please don't. Don't tell them." Alice begged her. The last thing she needed was for FP to race over in a frantic state. He would probably come off his bike or worse. She didn't want him or Jughead to get hurt because of her. "Not yet." She added quietly.

Betty looked at her in disbelief. "Mom. That's not fair." She told her, shaking her head. If Jughead was hurt she would want to know straight away. Keeping this from FP wasn't fair and they both knew it. She looked at her mother's pained expression and realised why the older woman had asked her to keep it to herself. Her mother didn't believe she would make it out of this alive. "Mom, you're going to be okay. I know you are." She promised her, tears falling down her face even harder than she had been crying just moments before. "Mom, we need you, I need you." She sobbed as she lowered herself down onto the grass by the car. Her knees hit the grass, hands supporting her face as she sobbed into them.

"I know honey," Alice said quietly. "I need you too. I love you so, so much." She told her daughter with a sad little smile. Tears were forming in her own eyes but she was fighting them the best she could.

"Please stop," Betty told her, looking up at her mother now. She wiped her face on her sleeve and sniffed back so her nose would stop running. "You're going to be fine. Stop acting like you're dying. You're not dying." She told her, shaking her head. She could feel her strength and determination making an appearance once more. She pushed herself up off the grass and marched across to the back of the car. She was trying to figure out how to stop the car from jerking forward. She looked around at their surroundings. She walked over to where her baby sister was still laid out on the grass. She checked on her for a second before walking to find the biggest rocks or fallen branches that she could. She wanted to somehow stop the back wheels from moving forward if she could.

Alice heard the sound of her baby girl starting to cry again. She turned her head, trying to do her best to let her voice carry. "It's okay baby, mommy's right here. Okay? And your big sister will be right there with you in just a sec, okay darling?" She called out to her girl, hoping that her voice might calm her little one down until someone could get to her again. She felt the car jerk forward again so she closed her eyes, trying to imagine she was elsewhere. She pictured the day she found out she was pregnant, the fear on FP's eyes that soon turned to excitement when he realised she wasn't upset with him. That brought a smile to her face. She wanted to go back to that moment and live in it. She wanted to go back to the day she held her baby girl in her arms for the first time and then watched FP do the same. Those were the memories she was starting to have in replacement of the painful ones she had there before.

She let out a scream when the car started to fall forward. No matter how hard she pushed her back against her chair, she couldn't stop the way it continued to tilt forward. Their groceries started flying through the middle of the car. A tin hit her face before landing by her feet. She cried out in pain, continuously pushing back on her seat as if it would make a difference.

Betty raced over to the car and tried her hardest to grab hold of the back of the vehicle. She could hear a siren in the near distance, but somehow it felt too far away. She kept screaming out to her mother, trying to tell her she would be okay but the words were hysterical and made little to no sense at all. She didn't let go of the car, not even as it tipped forward so high that she was almost off the ground. She fell back into a heap on the grass when the weight of the car was too much for her to stop. She screeched out, watching her family car disappear over the edge of the cliff face. Her screeches drowned out the sound of her sister's cries, even when she fell face first into the dirt, sobbing hysterically into the ground. Her fists collided with the hard soil over and over until her knuckles started to bleed.

Betty couldn't remember what happened after that. The only memories she had after that moment were of FP holding onto his baby for dear life in the hospital, as Jughead wrapped his arms around her, whispering that it would all be okay. She didn't believe him, not for a second. It would never be okay again.


End file.
